Southwestern University biology researchers receive National Science Foundation grant

Southwestern University biology researchers receive National Science Foundation grant

By Community Impact Newspaper Staff Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Two biology professors at Southwestern University received a $98,928 grant from the National Science Foundation for the purchase of key teaching and research equipment.

Assistant professor of biology Maria Todd and associate professor of biology Maria Cuevas applied for the grant to help further their research on a recently discovered membrane protein known as claudin-3. Claudins are found in tight junctions, connecting adjacent cells and acting as a barrier to the movement of substances between cells.

Todd and Cuevas are focusing their research on the function of the protein in breast cells. They hope to determine its role in critical processes such as cell movement, invasion and signaling.

Todd and former Southwestern student Brytanie Piana conducted studies in the summer of 2007, and Cuevas joined the project in the summer of 2008, along with associate professor of biology Rebecca Sheller. Sheller optimized the measurement of tight junction strength between breast cells that produced different levels of claudin-3 protein.

The NSF grant will enable Todd and Cuevas to purchase three new pieces of equipment: a benchtop flow cytometer, a cell counter, and a phase-contrast microscope with digital camera and computer. Cuevas and two student researchers will install and optimize the equipment this fall.

Until now, Todd has been sending her samples to the Texas A&M Health Science Center in Temple for analysis. The automatic cell counter will do in five minutes what had taken three to four hours to accomplish, Cuevas said.

The phase-contrast microscope currently at Southwestern is not equipped with a camera and computer. The new microscope can be connected to a computer, enabling the researchers to show students real-time changes in the appearance and cell movement on a computer screen.

The grant was funded through the NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation Program, which is designed to provide researchers and students with access to state-of-the-art scientific and engineering equipment. The program is particularly interested in funding instrumentation that will be shared among different research groups. Several other Southwestern faculty members will be able to use the equipment in their research.